26. O dreadful forms of
terror and4757
frightful
bugbears
4758
on account
of which the human race was to be benumbed for ever, to attempt nothing
in its utter amazement, and to restrain itself from every
wicked and
shameful act—little
sickles, keys, caps, pieces of
wood, winged
sandals,
staves, little timbrels,
pipes, psalteries, breasts protruding
and of great size, little drinking
cups, pincers, and
horns filled with
fruit, the
naked bodies of
women, and huge
veretra openly
exposed! Would it not have been better to
dance and to
sing, than calling it gravity and pretending to be serious, to relate
what is so insipid and so
silly, that images
4759
| 4759
Or, perhaps, “relate that images so frigid and so
awkward.” |
were formed by the ancients to check
wrongdoing, and to
arouse the
fears of the
wicked and
impious? Were the men of that age and time, in understanding, so
void of reason and good sense, that they were kept back from
wicked
actions, just as if they were little
boys, by the
preternatural
4760
| 4760
The ms., and both Roman edd. read
monstruosissima-s torvi-tate-s annis; corrected by Gelenius and
later edd. monstruosissimâ torvitate animos, and by
Salmasius, Orelli, Hild., and Oehler, as above, m. t.
sannis. |
savageness of
masks, by grimaces also, and bugbears?
4761
| 4761
The ms., first four edd., Elm., and
Oberthür read manus, which, with animos read
in most (cf. preceding note), would run, “that they were even
kept back, as to (i.e., in) minds and hands, from wicked actions by the
preternatural savageness of masks.” The other edd. read
with Salmasius, as above, maniis. |
And how has this been so
entirely changed, that though there are so many
temples in your
states
filled with images of all the gods, the multitude of criminals cannot
be
resisted even with so many
laws and so
terrible punishments,
and their audacity cannot be overcome
4762
by any means, and
wicked deeds,
repeated again and again, multiply the more it is striven by
laws and
severe judgments to lessen the number of cruel
deeds, and to
quell them by the check
given by means of punishments? But
if images caused any
fear to men, the passing of
laws would cease, nor
would so many kinds of
tortures be established against the
daring of
the
guilty: now, however, because it has been
proved and
established that the supposed
4763
terror which is said to flow out
from the images is in reality
vain, recourse has been had to the
ordinances of
laws, by which there might be a dread
of punishment
which should be most certain fixed in men’s minds also, and a
condemnation settled; to which these very images also owe it that they
yet stand safe, and secured by some respect being yielded to
them.
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